He won the British Open twice, in 1986 and 1993. Despite "The Great White Shark"'s (a reference to a shark inhabiting Australian waters as well as Norman's size and blonde locks) huge success on the US PGA professional tour and many wins in tour events, Norman will be forever regarded as underachieving given his talents by missing out in the US Open, PGA, and Masters. He was equally victim of his own bad luck, good luck on the part of his fellow golfers (once losing a near-certain PGA Championship title after another competitor holed a bunker shot, for instance), and a couple of infamous "chokes" where Norman's wobble-prone putting got the better of him.
Norman's friendly image and articulate nature has made him a perfect spokesman for a wide range of products, including the usual array of golf equipment but extending well beyond. Whilst continuing to play tournaments, his growing business interests take up an increasing amount of his time. His personal wealth is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of US dollars.
Norman's hobbies include offshore game fishing—he has owned a succession of increasingly large and luxurious boats (though his latest may best be described as a small ship) for the purpose. Based in Florida, he typically plays only one or two tournaments per year in his homeland.
He married his American (?) wife Laura in 1981 and has two children.